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Amendment could limit interbasin transfer

Savannah Morning News

ATLANTA - Transferring water from one river basin to another would be more closely regulated under an amendment approved Thursday by the House Natural Resources Committee.

The action was seen as a victory for downstream communities including Savannah, Athens and Augusta, where officials have expressed fears about metro Atlanta, which is in a different watershed, siphoning off the rivers that serve the three cities.

The measure was added to a bill that would allow the construction of a network of reservoirs to prepare the state for future droughts.

The amendment's author, Rep. Debbie Buckner, D-Columbus, said the amendment was designed to win more votes for the reservoir bill. Even though the reservoirs would catch rainwater rather than hold back streams or rivers, she said many members of the House are reluctant to support their construction because they don't want to cripple downstream communities.

Plus, the amendment would put into law guidelines that are part of the statewide water plan approved by the General Assembly and Gov. Sonny Perdue this year.

"Everybody's been concerned about interbasin transfers," she said. "Guidance in the water plan still is not as binding as codifying (into law) those recommendations."